Doíre -v- Ciarraí, Baile Eachaidh, 08.03.2009

[magickingdom]

thought the ref was terrible myself tho conditions were difficult. great to see tadhg get a run hes going to be a big help to kerry. why was the game not in celtic pk?

[Bogball XV]

thought the ref was terrible myself tho conditions were difficult. great to see tadhg get a run hes going to be a big help to kerry. why was the game not in celtic pk?

being developed at present, not ready until May (hopefully).  pitch was a bit tight but surface in good condition, i think the tightness was detrimental to derry's game though.  Kerry were well deserving winners, should have won by more, encouraging though for an experimental derry side.

[whiskeysteve]

It was a poor game of football and the conditions were bloody awful. I couldnt feel my left foot til I got home through the door. Derry had a great start and Eoin Bradley looked like he would have the beating of his man all day. Its a pity he got a yellow. After that Derry had no real outlet up front at all. Muldoon came on for Bradley but wasnt at the races. I felt our forwards were a bit lightweight and in Bellaghys narrow pitch and with the condtions couldnt get the space to make use of their pace and movement. I felt this particularly affected the likes of Enda Lynn who should be perservered with for later on in the season, this wasnt the game for him.

The defence competed well with the Kerry threat. Sean Marty and McGuckin done a good disruptive job on Gooch and O'Sullivan who were quiet enough from play. Donaghy generally got the better of McCloy in the air but never got free more than once or twice to do anything further. McCloy was poor with the ball in hand though and this is one area in which McCusker is easily his superior. Half back line done fairly well without being as good as against Westmeath but Chrissy McKaigue looked a bit error prone when he came on though for similar reasons to Lynn should be tried again.

Joe Diver must be banned from shooting. But his fielding was superb at times. Doc was Doc. The centre half forward position seems to be a bit of a poison chalice under Cassidy. It seems to demand a holding role while the play continues around you. This might suit the none too mobile Murphy who is good at winning the breaking ball. They were raving about Kielt on the tv this evening and his sideline kicks were outstanding but like the rest of the forwards he never really showed as an option from play. The half forward line was quite poor but it is an inexperienced line. Im not sure that Brian Mullan will be able to keep a place though. Brown rarely found space to do anything either.

Looking forward to the Dublin game, I think this will be a game for the new crop of forwards. What little I've seen of Dublin from the highlights against Galway and Donegal seems to suggest that they still have a weakness for letting through runners from deep and with good pace and movement goal chances can be worked. I would like to see Sean Leo started at half forward for this reason as he is good at ghosting in behind on the overlap.

Overall, fairly encouraging. League is league and Cassidy is building a strong panel. The new style of play will also suit big pitches and summer weather

[screenexile]

What's Diver supposed to do in this instance he's going full pelt and a man of at LEAST 17 stone and 3 feet wide is standing in front of him. Of course he's going to jump. Quirke should have gotten out of the way regardless of what size he is. Regardless of this he is a victim of the new rules and I for one don't think anyone should be sent to the line for a clumsy tackle like that.

As for Bradley? It was a mistimed foot in, yellow card all day long every day of the week and again it's not a sending off offence. Do 2 of either of those tackles under normal regulations and yes you should be given the line for 2 bookings but I think both lads were unfortunate.

God help our games if these new rules do come in they are a joke and will change everything for the worst. I have said it all along when you can send players straight off for making an honest attempt at playing the ball you will begin to lose players altogether. If the original rules were just applied properly everything would be fine!

[amigo]

What's Diver supposed to do in this instance he's going full pelt and a man of at LEAST 17 stone and 3 feet wide is standing in front of him. Of course he's going to jump. Quirke should have gotten out of the way regardless of what size he is. Regardless of this he is a victim of the new rules and I for one don't think anyone should be sent to the line for a clumsy tackle like that.

As for Bradley? It was a mistimed foot in, yellow card all day long every day of the week and again it's not a sending off offence. Do 2 of either of those tackles under normal regulations and yes you should be given the line for 2 bookings but I think both lads were unfortunate.

God help our games if these new rules do come in they are a joke and will change everything for the worst. I have said it all along when you can send players straight off for making an honest attempt at playing the ball you will begin to lose players altogether. If the original rules were just applied properly everything would be fine!

My viewing of these two incidents were that Diver played a pass then deliberately jumped into Quirke and went down feigning injury in an attempt to get Quirke a yellow card!! As soon as the card was produced he was on his feet again with nothing wrong with him.
I think it was a very harsh yellow for the Kerryman.
In Bradleys instance i thought the referee got the call right. Bradley missed the ball and then swung his leg at it more out of frustration than anything else. There did not seem to be any malice or intent in the challenge but he probably was deserving of the yellow card!!

[rrhf]

Quirke acted the hallion and sledged yer man who was in no position to proect himself - to me if than so called 3rd man tackle / obstruction is removed from Galeic football it will improve it.  However Eoghan Bradleys sending off was a joke, it was a yellow card offence in the old rules but it was quite obviously a clumsy accident and for to not let the fella finish his game of football over that.  If these rules are implemented in the summer I have no doubt we will be watching games without the stars ie men off after 5 minutes in an all ireland final.  On anotgher note if you were looking a bit of game time for a man coming back they can be used to your advantage ie Brian Mc Guigan getting a lock of minutes against Galway and then swapping with Mugsy.  As for Derry and Kerry I think we have 2 of the all ireland semifinalists yesterday.  I like (cough) Derry this year. 

[screenexile]

Wasn't at it and saw the replays... wasn't dangerous it would have been a mistimed slide tackle in Soccer which warrants a yellow card so how could it be a straight red in a gaelic match? It wasn't malicious but under the new rules it was a completely deserving yellow card so I will not argue with that. Just that it's stupid his game had to end because of it!

[DUBSFORSAM1]

What's Diver supposed to do in this instance he's going full pelt and a man of at LEAST 17 stone and 3 feet wide is standing in front of him. Of course he's going to jump. Quirke should have gotten out of the way regardless of what size he is. Regardless of this he is a victim of the new rules and I for one don't think anyone should be sent to the line for a clumsy tackle like that.

As for Bradley? It was a mistimed foot in, yellow card all day long every day of the week and again it's not a sending off offence. Do 2 of either of those tackles under normal regulations and yes you should be given the line for 2 bookings but I think both lads were unfortunate.

God help our games if these new rules do come in they are a joke and will change everything for the worst. I have said it all along when you can send players straight off for making an honest attempt at playing the ball you will begin to lose players altogether. If the original rules were just applied properly everything would be fine!

Anytime there was an effort to apply the original rules there was uproar....If players were booked everytime they pulled/dragged someone down, played them off the ball etc there was uproar.....The emphasis should be on training players how to tackle/defend properly considering half the time they commit a blatant foul they complain about it and claim it is not a foul etc...

[screenexile]

I totally agree with you DFS1 (Wow don't think that has happened before). There shouldn't be allowed to be uproar with rules that are already agreed upon. Bottom line is if you pull someone's jersey 3 times in a game you deserve to be off and can have no complaint about it. What annoys me is this propaganda machine that is infiltrating newspapers and journalists up and down the country proclaiming these new rules are a huge success. Bollocks!

They have watered down our game something shocking where a lad is afraid to put in a good shoulder tackle for fear it is mistimed and he will get the line. The rules task force were in Derry last week informing all our club managers that these new rules will be introduced in 2010 for all games and that their ratification at a special congress is only a formality... I think it is a disgrace and I will be lobbying my Club and our CB not to vote for them!!!

[DUBSFORSAM1]

Screen...its alright, I know coming from Derry it sometimes takes people a while to come to their senses and agree I know best ...

I think the new rules in terms of opening the game up, less frees, more scores is true but the new rules combined with the trends of the last 5/10 years have taken a lot of the physicality out of the game I agree...for example I flew back for the Tyrone/Dublin game and watched it with 1 other Dub fan and 2 non-Dub fans who were with me at the qtr-final game and the comment they made a number of times when Dublin scored/bypassed Tyrone players was that you could see the Tyrone players actually restraining themselves from dragging back the dublin player and we all said that in the summer they would have been pulled down without a thought...so in that sense it is good...

With regards to the physicality I think this has been due to the ready acceptance by managers/supporters etc that players are entitled to dive at the slightest contact to "win" frees/booking etc...It is something I abhor and I would give anything for the physicality of the 70's/80's to come back in where players first thought was to stay on their feet, not show weakness etc....the element of huge hits etc being allowed would also I think reduce the amount of sly kicks/tugs and mouthing off that players do to get people frustrated as they know they would get their comeupance....